Archaeological Science Outside the Ivory Tower: Perspectives from CRM

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Archaeological Science Outside the Ivory Tower: Perspectives from CRM," at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This symposium seeks to highlight the intersection of two major trends in American archaeology over the last half century: the dramatic growth of both archaeological science and cultural resource management (CRM). The vast majority of cultural heritage research and conservation in the United States is conducted by CRM professionals and archaeological science has become an integral part of this process. Archaeological science techniques such as radiometric dating, ground penetrating radar (GPR), light detection and ranging (LiDAR), photogrammetry, X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), and specialist disciplines like archaeobotany, geoarchaeology and zooarchaeology are increasingly offered as services by CRM firms or are incorporated into CRM projects using external vendors. This session both showcases research by CRM professionals and addresses future trends in archaeological science as part of cultural heritage management conducted outside of universities and museums. In addition to research case studies, presenters and discussants will share their perspective on topics such as the source of demand for archaeological science services, the utility of such services, the hiring of specialist personnel, collaborations with academics, and the archiving and accessibility of archaeological science datasets generated by CRM projects.